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The Next Oil?: Rare Earth Metals

Rare earth metals are quickly becoming the next important strategic resource. For many countries in Asia, the stakes are big.

Rare earth metals (REM) are increasingly becoming a critical
strategic resource. The 17 elements can be found in most high-tech
gadgets, from advanced military technology to mobile phones. China
currently holds claim to over 90 percent of the world’s production. As
global demand increases, Beijing’s export reductions in recent years
have forced high-tech firms to relocate to China and forced other
governments to pour money into their exploration and production. An
emergent India is among those concerned about China’s control of rare
earths. In the past 12 months, the geopolitics of rare earths has become
evident. REMs are becoming a strategic resource over which the two
emerging giants are competing in Asia. Indeed, one might say rare earths
are fast becoming “the next oil.”
The name, rare earth metal, is a misnomer. The metals are, in fact,
far more abundant than many precious minerals. Yet their dispersion
means they are rarely found in economically viable quantities. The
similarity of chemical properties of the 17 REMs, demonstrated by their
close proximity on the periodic table, makes them very difficult to
separate. Their extraction is capital- and skill- intensive. End uses
for REMs are varied but recent figures cited by the U.S. Geological Survey
noted that in the U.S. the end use was predominantly for battery
alloys, ceramics and magnets, sectors that are continuing to grow to
cater for high-tech industry. The extent to which REM’s are used in
defense technology is such that without their production modern
warfare—fighter jets, drones, and most computer-controlled
equipment—would have to undertake a lengthy process of redevelopment. A
sovereign monopoly of such a resource is therefore a serious concern for
any nation.

Two decades ago, Deng Xiaoping, the former leader of the Communist
Party of China, noted the importance of REMs, “The Middle East has oil
and China has rare earth,” he said in 1992. His foresight was
impressive. China holds half of the world’s deposits of REMs, 55
megatons (Mt), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Not counting countries comprising the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS), the U.S. holds the next largest national reserves with
approximately 13Mt. India, on the other hand, has a mere 3.1Mt of
estimated reserves. Continued cuts in China’s exports have led to a
scramble for production, as other countries realize their reliance on
China’s resources. Propelled by increasing demand and a need for
self-sufficiency to provide for growing industry demands, India plans to
triple its output by 2017.
In 2010, China halted shipments of REMs to Japan for two months
following a diplomatic crisis, crippling high-tech manufacturing in the
country. A trade official announced that Japan would try to reduce its
dependency on Chinese REMs by cutting consumption by 10,000 tons
annually over the coming years, noting that almost half a billion U.S.
dollars would be paid in subsidies to support the initiative. Tokyo, the
largest REM importer in the world, has also moved to diversify its REM
suppliers, inking deals with Lynas Corp from Australia and Molycorp in
the U.S, among others. Most recently, in November 2012, India and Japan
signed a Memorandum of Understanding in which Japan, the world’s largest
REMs importer, pledged to purchase as much as 20 percent of its REM
imports from India.

Tensions between China and India are nothing new. The two BRICS countries remain deadlocked on issues such as the border dispute
over Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin, Chinese naval activity in the
Indian Ocean and Sino-Pakistani relations. Economically, the two
emerging giants are also stamping their influence on Asia, often
stepping on each other’s toes in a delicate half-wrestle, half-waltz—a
race for influence in which China is often more proactive.

Asian countries, many of which are increasing military spending, have
bound together in an effort to stave off dependence on China’s REMs.
The most unlikely of these alliances has been on the Korean Peninsula.
North and South Korea met in November 2011 to discuss joint exploitation
of Pyongyang’s rare earths, which some estimates put at six trillion dollars.
Yet investment in heavy industry in North Korea has been less than
attractive for even Pyongyang’s closest allies, as demonstrated by the
failed venture of Chinese firm Haicheng Xiyang Group. Meanwhile, Japan has also engaged in talks to jointly develop Myanmar’s REM deposits.

In recent years, South Korea and Japan have collaborated to stockpile
and share energy resources to ensure the security of energy imports.
Such resource sharing agreements may very well be applied for rare earth
minerals in the future. In 2011 Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) introduced the
RESTART (Rare Earths Supply Chain Technology and Resources
Transformation) Act into the U.S. House of Representations. The Act,
which wasn’t passed during the just concluded session of Congress,
included a provision that called for creating a national stockpile
organized under the U.S. Department of Defense, a proposal which has
been floated a number of times over the past few years. After years of foreign reports, in July 2012 the state-owned China Securities Journal said that China had begun stockpiling REMs, without specifying when the initiative began.

India, however, isn’t in a position to stockpile the resources.
Instead it has begun to boost production and exploration to try and meet
domestic demand. In Orissa, a new 10,000 ton REM processing plant is expected to be operational by early next year. The U.S. $25 million plant is expected to process 4 percent of global production of Monazite. Much of this will be used to meet domestic demand.Read More